


Inhibitions

by Amarissia



Series: Decorum [15]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 11:18:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarissia/pseuds/Amarissia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sephiroth is reluctant to act on his new relationship with Cloud. Fortunately, Zack is around to help. Part of the Decorum series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inhibitions

**INHIBITIONS  
Part of the Decorum series**

 

"I'm not certain this is a good idea."

"Hmm?" Zack quickly spoke, hoping Sephiroth would overlook the noncommittal noise he so disliked. Fortunately, the general didn't seem to notice. "What, you mean picking Atsui to lead the Junon mission? Just because he used to send me nude photos of himself doesn't make him a complete pervert. I think he can handle the temptations of a port city as well as any other 1st Class."

"No, I meant - Atsui sent you nude photos of himself? When was this and why was I not informed?"

"Angeal never told you about that?" Zack laughed. "Oh, it was four years ago."

"This happened when you were _sixteen_?" Sephiroth growled lowly. "Again, why was I not - "

"Angeal took care of it, off the record. Remember that spinal injury Atsui got in Wutai?"

"The report said he fell from a Da Chao statue."

"Well, yeah. Just not so much the 'fell' part."

Sephiroth smiled faintly. Though officially he was in charge of doling out the punishments in SOLDIER, he allowed the 1st Classes a certain amount of latitude, especially when it came to offenses not clearly spelled out in the regulations or Code of Conduct. Besides, four years ago, Zack Fair had been nothing to him but a promising 3rd and one of the few topics that could bring a genuine smile to Angeal's face. Angeal's punishment was a harsher one than the general would have or could have given, and therefore preferable.

"So what were you talking about, Seph?"

The slight smile became an equally vague frown, though it was fond and sad both. "Cloud," he said quietly, though they were alone in the office.

"What? We just got him and you're getting cold feet?" Zack asked incredulously. "Your feelings haven't changed, have they?"

"On the contrary, I am as distracted by him as I am by you. I've been experiencing a strange, fluttering feeling in my abdomen whenever I see something the same shade of blue as his eyes. I am genuinely worried that I may kill Tseng if I catch him so much as looking."

Zack grinned. "I also heard you were lurking around the chocobo stables yesterday. Gosh, I wonder why you would suddenly start liking chocobos."

"I was merely escorting Zane out of there," Sephiroth said defensively. "You know he's not allowed in the stables."

"Okay. But you have been...a little different since Cloud made our duo a trio. You still scare the shit out of everyone, of course, but I keep catching something soft in your eyes that wasn't there before."

"I never expected to love at all. Falling in love with you was a startling experience," the general admitted reluctantly. "Now...I feel even more vulnerable and overwhelmed. I can't stop thinking about how it felt to have my arms around him. How it felt to hold him between us."

"Seph, this is good. This is a good thing."

"But is it good for him?"

"Seph, have you seen how Cloud looks at you?"

The general continued to frown. "He seems to have trouble keeping eye contact with me."

"I mean when you're not looking back."

"Obviously I can't see how he's looking at me when I'm not looking at him."

Zack rolled his eyes. "You're impossible. Just trust me, Spiky's head over heels for ya. You've just been his crush and idol so long that it's taking him a little while to get past that. He's settling into this, Seph, and I think he's still a bit dazed that you and I both want him in that way. Aren't you the one who said we need to go slowly with Cloud?"

"I am not impatient that I haven't gotten to have sex with him yet. Well, not much," Sephiroth said, pausing to glare as Zack snickered. "I do believe he wants this relationship and I do wish to proceed at a pace that is comfortable for him."

"Then what's wrong? It's not the age thing again, is it? You know it's a miracle that a cadet who looks like Cloud is still a virgin at fifteen." Zack scratched his head, trying to unriddle the doubt Sephiroth wanted to express. "Legally, yeah, it's a problem, but everyone knows he and I are close and, except for all those rumors that have been going on forever anyway, nobody thinks anything of it to see him entering Building C any time of the day or night, or leaving it. Whether we meet up in your apartment or mine, the assumption will be that Cloud and I are hanging out. No one's brave or dumb enough to accuse the general and his bit of hot stuff of buggering a cadet."

"Bit of hot stuff?"

"Well, aren't I?"

Sephiroth had to give him that one. "True, we can and will take every precaution."

"It'll be less stressful after his next birthday," Zack reassured him.

"But no safer for Cloud. Even then, if this secret became exposed, it would ostracize him from his classmates. Other SOLDIERs would be too concerned about repercussions from us to discipline him should he commit an offense."

"Good."

"Zack, discipline keeps us alive. If Cloud is to be a SOLDIER, he must be treated no differently."

"Fine, fine." Zack dropped his ignored stack of forms onto the desk, preferring even Sephiroth's vexing vagueness over patrol reports. "Tell me, specifically, what the problem is. As bluntly as you can. Stick a few vulgar words in, if possible."

"Cloud should not be spoken of in that way."

Privately Zack agreed, but he smirked and said, "Oh, c'mon, be honest. You haven't spent the last few days imagining him bent over this desk? I know I have."

"Lieutenant."

"What about the cadet uniform ripped off, tossed onto the floor?" Zack boldly left his chair and straddled Sephiroth's lap. Instead of being reprimanded, his waist was gripped by hands that were beginning to shake. "What about Cloud on your lap like this? He would fit so well, don't you think?"

"Zackary..."

The lieutenant nudged Sephiroth's collar aside with his nose and dropped his voice to a seductive whisper. "And your bed. Imagine all that white and blond and blue against black silk. What sane man could find any objection to - "

The room spun for an instant and Zack found himself pushed against the desk with his pants around his ankles. He grinned as Sephiroth grabbed his hips and pressed closer.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

__

zsczsczsc

Cloud was running out of excuses to be caught staring dreamily into space. For nearly a week, his closest friends Grady Chang and Darren Lindley had been waving their hands in front of his face and asking him what he was on. If they suspected it had to do with Lieutenant Fair they didn't express this; they were, after all, constantly defending Cloud to those who claimed he was sleeping with the lieutenant. Chang and Lindley were both highly amused by the way Cloud became flustered around Zack, thinking the only reason was that Zack tended to embarass their friend without realizing it.

Though Cloud hadn't seen Zack in private since the Night (capitalization necessary, in his mind) that he couldn't remember without getting dizzy, and they hadn't had much of a chance to talk, Cloud knew that what had been decided in Zack's apartment would have to be kept secret. No problem, Cloud had thought - who would believe it anyway? But he was concerned that Zack may have trouble, considering his inability to hide his feelings. Cloud already felt a little paranoid being the only cadet to own a Building C keycard that gave him access to Zack's floor, though Zack had assured him that Angeal - Zack's late mentor - had done the same for him.

"Not that we were...you know, or anything. That would have been weird. Remind me to tell you about Lieutenant Welman and the Winter Solstice fiasco sometime. It's a good example of how nicknames can be taken the wrong way."

Cloud smiled as he entered the elevator and pushed the buttons for the thirteenth floor. One of the first things Zack had ever told Cloud was to always feel free to interrupt him, as he tended to run on infinitely if given the chance, but the cadet found Zack's penchant for babble endearing. He had said he didn't mind, and Zack's response had been to grin and say that made two people who felt that way, the other being - 

Cloud's heart lifted into his throat as the elevator came to a halt. Would Sephiroth be in Zack's apartment too? The possibility both elated and terrified him. He wanted Sephiroth as much as he did Zack, but being close to the general was still a intimidating prospect. Sephiroth had seemed to sense this at their first and only meeting. Cloud had snuggled comfortably against his chest, Zack's hands petting from behind, and Sephiroth had seemed happy merely to hold him and bury his face in the blond spikes. After a while he had excused himself to "take care of something"; Zack had giggled at this and gotten a slap on the head as a consequence.

Cloud was inexperienced, not clueless. He knew what the "something" was, he had felt it, and had to deal with his own "something" later on in the shower of his dorm room. He was grateful to the general for not rushing him, but annoyed at himself for letting apprehension delay something that all three of them obviously wanted. It was a surreal scenario to ponder, like the dreams that usually ended with his boxers wet and sticky. The two hottest guys in all of ShinRa, maybe the whole world, wanted him. And not just physically, or for a one-time fling. Cloud's first relationship. Even his wildest fantasies had not prepared him for this.

His feet brought him to the door of Apartment C automatically as his thoughts rushed around in every direction. Cloud wondered exactly what Zack planned to do and if he was ready for it, but the grin that met him made Cloud think there wasn't much he didn't want Zack to do to him. The lieutenant behaved normally as he ushered Cloud inside and shut the door, then pulled the boy into a hug that was only slightly unlike his previous, public embraces.

Zack had meant to assure Cloud that their relationship didn't mean he was going to get ambushed and groped every second they had in private, but Cloud seemed to have pushed aside any nervousness he had. He flattened himself against Zack in a way that was not entirely innocent, and the lieutenant held tight to the bit of control he had left.

"Oh, Gaia," Zack groaned into the blond's neck. "You remember the rule?"

"Tell you...if I get scared."

Cloud was softly panting already, and feeling like he had a fever. Zack's body heat felt cool by comparison, and so good. He put his hands beneath the SOLDIER's T-shirt, shivering as his fingers traced the muscles and wondering if he would ever be this built. Zack was, with great difficulty, keeping his own hands above Cloud's waist, massaging the soft white skin under the uniform. As his thumbs circled the nipples, the cadet grasped Zack's shoulders tight enough to hurt his fingers.

"Easy, baby. Not too fast."

"Not a...baby," Cloud whispered, pressing his lips to Zack's.

Zack was a few inches taller. Instead of leaning down, he lifted Cloud with his strong arms to keep their faces together. The blond opened for him eagerly and allowed Zack's more experienced tongue to lead him. Only an eventual need for oxygen forced him to set Cloud back down and lift his chin, so he could look steadily into the hazy blue eyes.

"You are with this kind of thing," he said gently, and Cloud would've pouted if he had remembered what they were talking about. "I need to know you're okay with what we're doing."

"I'm not being obvious enough?" Cloud asked, gently pushing his hips forward.

"Fuck...no, I mean what me and Seph are doing." Zack smiled as Cloud looked suddenly shy. "We're both serious about you, you know that, right? You know I love you?"

Cloud hid his face against Zack's shoulder. "Uh-huh."

"Seph's falling for you pretty hard. It's tough for him, 'cause he wants you, but he's worried about overwhelming you."

Cloud shifted a little, uneasily maybe, but not uncomfortably. "I want him too. A lot, I just..."

"I know." Zack combed his fingers through the silky blond hair. "It was weird for me at first too, and I was older and more experienced, heh, and not quite the awestruck fanboy you are."

"Zack!"

"It's cute." The lieutenant took Cloud's hand and tugged him into the bedroom. "Seph and I were talking."

"About?" Cloud asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"You, of course. We think, since you're more comfortable with me, that I should be the one to start...easing you into this."

As he spoke, Zack slowly backed Cloud up to the bed and gently edged him onto the mattress. The boy made an adorable noise of surprise as he fell back, but breathed an alarmed gasp as the bigger body lay over his own. Zack's fingers rushed to Cloud's face and stroked his cheeks.

"It's okay, baby, we're not going there yet, I promise. Clothes stay on for this lesson, but there's still plenty of fun to be had."

"I have to be at Strength Training at four."

"Not today you don't," Zack said in a sing-song voice, tilting Cloud's head to trace the path of his jugular vein with his tongue. "I am afraid some inconsiderate person cast Ice3 in the cadets' weight room and froze all the equipment."

"Zack!"

"It's not special treatment if it benefits your whole class. Besides, my lesson's more fun."

"What lesson?"

"Letting go." Zack gathered Cloud's hands to his lips and kissed them, then entwined their fingers and stretched the blond's arms out diagonally upward. "Trusting me to make you feel good. You okay?"

Wide-eyed but smiling, lips slightly parted, Cloud nodded.

"Lift up your right leg and hook it around me. Yeah, just like that."

Zack shifted and re-settled on Cloud at a slight angle, so that their erections - Zack's full and Cloud's nearly so - were pressed together, separated only by a few layers of cloth. Cloud moaned at the same time as the lieutenant and tried to thrust upward, but the other body was too firmly settled to allow the movement. Zack grinned widely as that pleasured haze returned to Cloud's blue eyes. He didn't think even the brightness of mako could make them more beautiful.

"You still okay?"

Cloud nodded again, eagerly this time. He had a good idea where this was going and how it would end, and the thought of coming in front of someone else was scary. But there was no place on the planet he'd rather be than here, doing this.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Zack brought his hips forward, grinding himself into Cloud. The pressure opened up something hot and ecstatic inside the blond, and he cried out. His head tilted back and his eyes fluttered closed as Zack did it again.

"Try to...oh...try to keep your eyes open, baby. Look at me. Let me look at you."

Watching Zack's face was one of Cloud's favorite things to do and usually the easiest thing in the world. Just not right now, as Cloud didn't want this to be over, and Zack's handsome features and hungry turquoise eyes were making the rush build too quickly. Cloud controlled his breathing and tried to keep it steady, keep himself from overflowing. For the same reason, he stopped jerking upward and let Zack direct the rhythm of their rocking.

The same sort of thing appeared to be rising in Zack; he looked almost wild, though his voice was gentle. "Don't hold back, baby. Move with...move with me."

"But," Cloud panted, "it'll be done, then..."

"Trust me, Spiky, we'll never be done. Good, oh Gaia, just like that - "

Cloud's whole body felt like it was about to fly apart; he hesitated, and looked at Zack with alarm. But Zack understood, close himself, and merely leaned down to whisper in his ear. 

"Come. Come for me, baby, let me see."

The hot breath and the husky tone of Zack's voice broke the floodgates, and Cloud's body convulsed like a whip cracking. The boy's expression ripped climax from Zack as well, and he rode Cloud harder for a few moments as the cloth between them became damp. Gently, he lowered himself down onto Cloud and held him close, threading one hand into the blond spikes.

"Damn," Zack murmured, still disoriented. "You okay?"

In answer, Cloud pulled Zack's head by the hair and kissed him. He sighed happily and offered a dreamy smile as the lieutenant drew away and caressed his face. Cloud's skin was so pale that it could hold only the slightest pink of a blush, and in this ravished state he almost seemed to be glowing. Zack wondered for the fiftieth or sixtieth time how Cloud could be unaware of how beautiful he was.

"Your mom must be hot."

The cadet's mouth fell open. "What?"

"That didn't come out right," Zack said hurriedly. "I just meant, you know, to have made you."

"Do you always blurt things out like that after you..."

"After I come in my pants? Yes, actually. After the first time Seph gave me a handjob, I looked him right in the eyes and told him I wanted to sleep naked in his hair."

Cloud burst out laughing. "You didn't!"

"I really did. He gave me this weird look, and he was quiet for a few seconds, then he said he didn't think his hair was long enough to adequately cover me. I swear, no one knows how hilarious he is. Baby, what's wrong? You look sad all of a sudden."

"I feel like the general, Sephiroth, I mean, is being left out," Cloud said softly. "I want to...do this with him too."

"Believe me, he feels the same."

"Tell him it's okay. After the first time I'll be fine."

"Getting Seph there might be tricky," Zack said. "I'm afraid he's cast you as the sweet, unsuspecting virgin lamb and himself as the big, bad, seriously-hung wolf. Mmm, cosplay."

"Uh, Zack?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, I've got an idea how we can lure him into all the debauchery I have planned. But it will require a teensy bit of deception."

"I'm not tricking Sephiroth."

"Believe me, baby, he won't be mad. He'll probably promote me, or at least stop locking me out of his underwear drawer. Besides, don't you want him to realize it's okay to touch you?"

"Well...what kind of deception?"

Zack's grin was one that Angeal had declared to be fox-like in its sneakiness. Previously this memory had brought up feelings of wistfulness at the thought of his late mentor, but I'm afraid Zack's mind was still half-absorbed in the idea of cosplay and the opinion that fox might be a good identity for himself.

__

zsczsczsc

"I find it very unnerving when you do this."

"What, drag you out of your office or tell Levine you'll be back when I'm through with you?"

"I'm referring to that maniacal laugh. It reminds me of - "

"You better not compare me to Dr. Creepy."

"I was going to say myself." Sephiroth scowled at the amused looks the other 1st Classes were giving them as they passed by through the hallways. "Zack, I agreed to come, you can let go of my arm."

"Why, you think I'm gonna hurt your super-dominant reputation? Sephiroth is a manly, brutal top, everybody," Zack said, speaking to an empty hallway because he didn't want to get killed. "He bottoms for no one, because he's a stingy bastard. Is that better?"

"I am going to flay you and use your skin to make a new sheath for Masamune."

"Baby, you can sheathe your sword in me anytime. But right now I've got a surprise for you."

"I do not like surprises," Sephiroth grumbled sullenly. He was tired after a long day and couldn't summon up more than a childish annoyance at Zack and the urge to stick out his tongue. "I'll have you know I'm the commander-in-chief of ShinRa's armed forces and I could turn you over to the Turks for target practice."

"Of course you could, Seph." Zack patted his hand in a indulgent way. Damn him for being impossible to stay angry at. "But you wouldn't, 'cause I worship the ground you walk on and the underwear of yours I'm currently wearing."

"What? You broke the lock again? The housekeeping department is already convinced I have a deranged stalker - "

"Which you do. Hang on a second." They stopped outside Zack's apartment, and Zack quickly checked to make sure no one was around. "Okay, the surprise needs explaining. This has to do with Cloud."

"He's all right, isn't he?"

"That's just what I'm talking about, you looking at me like I'm molesting him or something. Seph, I know you want to be careful with Cloud, and I know it's easy to look at him and see innocence and be reluctant to disturb that."

"At times you understand my feelings better than I do," the general said softly. "I want him, badly, and yet I hesitate. I know it is foolish."

"And unfair to Cloud," Zack said, in a kind voice, cautious of Sephiroth's confusion. "Whatever he is, he's not a child. He doesn't need to be protected - "

"Of course he does!"

"But not from _you_."

Shoulders slumping, Sephiroth leaned against the wall adjacent to the door, and his silver hair cascaded forth like a waterfall as he looked downward. Zack ran his fingers through it, stroking the general's arm with his other hand.

"Are you certain about that? You deal very well with my unpredictable temperament and lack of understanding, but that is your nature, Zack. In body and mind both you are too strong for me to accidentally break."

The lieutenant smiled. "Cloud's got his strength too, more than most people suspect. I told you, he looks sweet, but he's dangerous. And he's sensitive. If he doesn't get a little action from you soon, he's gonna start thinking you don't want him."

"I merely don't wish to frighten him."

"Never fear, Zack is here. I've got a plan. We just need to get him through the first round of groping and grinding with Sephy. After that, he'll be fine."

"What do you propose we do?"

"I was thinking first that I could get you both wasted, but that seemed kinda immoral, not to mention I doubt I could procure enough alcohol to knock you off your feet. My new plan's better."

"Zack."

"Okay, okay," Zack said, pouting. "You're too worried about scaring him, he's too worried about appearing scared and making you feel bad. But he's okay with me. You see where I'm going?"

"No."

"I told him I'm gonna put on a long wig and clothes like yours, so he can pretend I'm you. Practice, you know? So I've got him in the bedroom blindfolded and his hands tied - "

"You tied him up and left him here?" Sephiroth asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well, that's why I got you here in such a hurry. Don't worry, Spiky's fine, just impatient. So you're gonna go in there instead. Boom, nervousness gone."

Sephiroth opened the door, dragged his lieutenant inside and shook him by the collar. "You tied up a cadet and are asking me to be intimate with him under false pretenses. Maybe it is you who are not to be trusted with Cloud."

Zack looked genuinely hurt, enough so that the general let him go. "Seph."

"I am sorry."

"If you don't trust my intentions or his feelings, Seph, then what the hell are we doing?" Zack saw that Sephiroth's resolve was weakening, crumbling in the face of his faith in Zack and the thought of overcoming the awkwardness between himself and Cloud. "C'mon, Seph, denial is bad for the soul, and whatever you and Dr. Creepy think, you do actually have one."

"If I find myself facing charges for this, make no mistake, I will take you down with me."

"You know, you're not giving my hard work the appreciation it deserves. I have half a mind to go in there and leave you out completely."

"Yes, Zack. You do have half a mind." Shoving him lightly, Sephiroth turned to the closed bedroom door, opened it and swept inside.

__

zsczsczsc

What he saw stopped him in his tracks. Cloud Strife, the sweet-faced vision that had haunted his dreams and waking hours all week, was stretched out on his back on the purple bedclothes that Zack was for some reason fond of. He was wearing a pair of jeans Zack had outgrown and one of Zack's smallest T-shirts - both were still a little big on him - as well as a large, folded black handkerchief tied around his head to cover his eyes. A similar cloth bound his wrists together, and his hands were above his head, fingers idly toying with a pillowcase.

Cloud smiled as he heard someone come in. "Sephiroth?" he said, and good thing he remembered he was supposed to use that name. The sound of it, the eagerness of it, made the general let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Hands stretched out, Sephiroth felt himself pulled toward the bed as though by an unseen, magnetic force. As he straddled Cloud gently and placed a hand on his cheek, it occurred to Sephiroth that the boy must be able to tell that this body was not Zack's. But Cloud turned his face happily into the touch, and Sephiroth could not help but believe Zack, believe that this eagerness was for him.

"It's okay," he wanted to say - though to whom, he wasn't sure - but his voice would give him away. Cloud said it instead, showing the odd mental synchronicity that Sephiroth had previously known only with Zack.

"It's okay. I'm not scared. I want this too."

The hand descended to cup his chin and turn his head a little to the side. Soft lips began, with growing confidence, to explore the blond's face, jaw, neck. Cloud shivered and quietly moaned as strands of long, smooth hair tickled his eyes and nose.

"Please," Cloud whispered, lifting his leg and trying to shift them into the positions he and Zack had earlier occupied. He was hard and so was Sephiroth, and in the same moment they realized this. "Please..."

A warm mouth opened against Cloud's, and the sweeping dance of a tongue drew out his own. The unseen partner was breathing heavily too, keeping some measure of control as he took the cadet's hips in hand and grinded into them. Cloud cried out urgently into the wet cavern that was lovingly devouring him. Sephiroth guided their movement but let Cloud set the pace; he wanted fast and the general complied, needing this just as badly for all his legendary control. No one but Zack had ever undone him like this, yet the experience was quite different. Zack never yielded to him quite so completely as this, never submitted with such abandon. Sephiroth panicked for an instant at the thought of choosing which he liked more before he remembered he didn't have to.

Cloud threw his head back as the mouth returned to his neck, arching his back in welcome as the rush he'd felt with Zack approached again. Suddenly afraid the other might stop, the cadet lifted his arms and looped the circle they formed over Sephiroth's head. Their bodies came together with almost painful force now, and Cloud showed no emotion but ecstasy. They came together, like one creature with a tangled mass of limbs, and as they caught their breath Sephiroth felt bold enough to slip his hand under Cloud's T-shirt and find that the soft skin matched the temperature of his own.

Cloud was contentedly fingering his hair, probably surprised at the smoothness of it as people tended to be. Sephiroth half-expected him to speak up and tell Zack how lifelike the wig felt, and he couldn't hold this deception any longer. Even the stomach-churning possibility of Cloud upset was better than keeping him in the dark. With hands that trembled slightly, Sephiroth carefully slipped the blindfold off.

Vivid blue eyes gazed up at him with no hint of surprise or confusion. The boy blushed a faint, rosy pink and smiled, shyly but brilliantly.

"You...you knew?"

"Of course. Did you really think Zack would trick _me?_ "

Shock was a rare and humanizing expression on Sephiroth, and Cloud couldn't help but grin at it. The general carefully stood up, with Cloud's bound arms still hooked around his neck and feet dangling above the floor, holding the cadet to take the pressure off his wrists. Cloud giggled at the odd place he'd found himself in, and Sephiroth smiled tenderly at him and drew the blond head to his shoulder.

"Lieutenant," he said to Zack, who was of course in the doorway behind them, having seen it all and currently panting and fanning himself.

"Sir."

"The next time Tseng requests a SOLDIER for an undercover operation, I'm going to send you and put you under Reno's supervision."

Zack's mouth fell open. "You'd turn me over to that man-whore who wants to nail us both? What about Spiky? He was in on this too! I get in trouble and he gets cuddled?"

Sephiroth turned around, petting Cloud's hair with a peaceful expression. "I suppose you deserve a reward as well as a punishment."

"Ooh! Can I pitch and you catch?"

"No."

"Can I kill Dr. Creepy and shove that fucking ponytail of his up his ass?"

The general frowned and put his hand over Cloud's ear, disturbed himself by the images Zack conjured up. "No."

"Can I dress the three of us in animal costumes?"

Sephiroth actually gave this one a moment's thought. "No."

"Pfft, you suck. Do I at least get some cuddling too?"

"That's a request I can easily grant."

Zack sprang across the short distance between them and threw his arms around Sephiroth's middle, prompting a soft "oof" from the boy between them. He slipped one hand, grinning, between Sephiroth and Cloud, and their bodies warmed his fingers like a glove.

"Is that comfortable, Spiky, or do you want me to let you down?"

"I like it here."

"Told you, Seph."

Sephiroth smiled at the cadet who happily dangled from his neck and looked at him with love, not fearful awe. He really should learn t  
to trust his lieutenant more, about feelings at least, if not agreements to stay out of his underwear drawer.

"You're not really mad at Zack, are you?" Cloud whispered.

Sephiroth squeezed them both tighter. "After this? I may never scold him again."


End file.
